Death
by The CONFOOZHiNG Nessia
Summary: A series of oneshots concering the deaths of High School Musical characters and their friends' reactions. Oneshot Dos up.
1. Uno: Until Now

**Author's Note:** This'll be a series of oneshot deaths. xP Each one is not related to the other unless otherwise stated. Depressing, I know, but I just _have_ to write these. In this one Gabriella dies; I know it's written differently but I think it fits. Sorta. Kinda. Well. It fits in my twisted little brain. xD

**Title:** Death

**Summary:** A series of oneshots concering the deaths of High School Musical characters and their friends' reactions. Oneshot Uno up.

**Disclaimer:** I certainly do NOT own High School Musical or any of its contents.

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Oneshot: **Uno:** Until Now

Gabriella Montez looked over her shoulder, miserably watching affectionate actions between Troy Bolton and Isabel García. Her lighthearted, carefree curls made contrast with her depressing expression.

One year. One year as boyfriend and girlfriend. One year of true love.

And still he had broken up with her.

Now, in their junior year, he was with another new student. Another Hispanic beauty. Another musical diva. A replacement for Gabriella Montez.

She could find no flaw in herself, no reason why Troy Bolton would refuse to live any longer with her. She had worked so hard at looking her best for that night. She had wanted to look her best for him.

There was no need for faking smiles or laughs with Gabriella Montez. She had thoroughly enjoyed that night. She had felt as if every inch of her body was on fire. She had thought she was the most important person in the basketball star's life.

There was no need for faking shallow happiness when he had dropped the bomb.

When he had broken up with her.

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Gabriella Montez sighed, collapsing into a leather sofa. She could not find the strength to reach forward and click the buttons on the remote. She could not watch television like before with the hurt troubling her inside.

The alcoves of her mind were filled with grief.

She could not respond to her kind mother as she gently asked if she wanted anything. She found only one answer, but knew there would be no relieving reaction to it.

_I want to be with Troy again._

Gabriella hated her life. Everything went wrong before Troy. Everything went wrong after Troy.

She needed him. She couldn't possibly live without him.

She had confessed her feelings to him that night, straight from her heart. She had told him that she could not even _begin_ to imagine life without him.

But he had not been able to repeat it back to her.

And when she had inquired why he seemed so faraway, he had answered her.

He had found someone else.

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Gabriella Montez felt as if she was lying to herself.

How could she picture herself, a freaky math girl... with Troy Bolton, East High's heartthrob, a local celebrity?

How could she believe that they actually had a chance together?

One year gave her _that_ idea.

Had Troy lied to her all those months?

Had every date been a big act?

Had he never really felt for her as she felt for him?

Similar wonderings hit her like bricks. A lone tear tumbled down her cheek. Her mother approached her but softened and retreated back to the kitchen after realizing that Gabriella was not quite over Troy yet.

But how could she be?

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Gabriella Montez pushed back her chair, refusing to eat dinner. Before her mother could question her, she had mumbled a "No, Mamí," slipped on shoes, and was out the front door, running down the sidewalk. She stumbled occasionally, but got up quickly so no one could reach her.

Her old, beat-up sneakers pounded the sidewalk. After a while, she slowed her pace and began to walk, dragging her toes on the road. This path was familiar; she had gone this way almost every day after school.

A large house with a basketball court stood out from the others. She jogged in its direction and stopped before the driveway. Gabriella could easily make out two figures on the court. One was Troy Bolton, the other Isabel García.

Her feet rooted to the spot, she could not help but watch the new couple shooting hoops together. Just as she had seen Jason do with Kelsi about a year ago, Troy was helping _that girl_ hone her skills.

But he had never done that with Gabriella.

She could not help but watch as Troy congratulated Isabel warmly after she shot from the three-point line by herself. He hugged her around her waist, then leaned back the slightest bit and kissed her mouth. She could not help but watch as their tongues tangled together in one motion.

And Gabriella longed to have that feeling as well.

Her heart sank as she saw his lips move after they pulled away.

Her heart sank because Troy was whispering "I love you."

And Gabriella Montez could no longer bear to watch.

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Troy Bolton saw a teenager... a girl spread out across the road.

Was that her? Was that Gabriella Montez? Was she... dead?

Troy mumbled something to his girlfriend, causing the teenage couple to rush down the hill. Isabel screamed briefly at the sight of the slightly bloodied body.

It _was_ Gabriella. It _was_ her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend. Her features were barely visible, but those flowing curls and that subtly curved figure could belong to no one else.

Obviously Isabel had not hated Gabriella; she cared enough for her to burst into tears and sob into the white T-shirt of her boyfriend.

Troy held Gabriella's head in his hands, warm, salty tears of his own dripping down on her lifeless face.

She had never been more important to him until she was gone.

Until now.

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**Author's Note:** I'll accept criticism. Just review, please. :D


	2. Dos: Under the Old Willow Tree

**Author's Note:** Oh my goodness! Thank you so much for reviewing, they made me happy even while writing death. o.O xD Since Troy was such a butt in the last oneshot, I decided to make up for it. Okies, here's the second.

**Title:** Death

**Summary:** A series of oneshots concering the deaths of High School Musical characters and their friends' reactions. Oneshot Dos up.

**Disclaimer:** I certainly do NOT own High School Musical or any of its contents.

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Oneshot: **Dos:** Under the Old Willow Tree

Gabriella sobbed on Angela's porch swing, her shoulders shaking even though Troy's muscled arms were holding her close. Angela, her older sister, gave her comfort in hard times, even when it was hard on Angela herself. The pair was gently rocking the porch swing, which was almost completely covered by the old willow tree in the backyard.

"I'm sorry," Troy whispered into her slightly dampened hair, fixed to the sides of her face where the tears rolled down.

Gabriella hiccuped, looking up at him. He was truly empathetic, she could see it in his eyes. But he couldn't say much without having lost a loved one himself, and he knew it. However, she couldn't refuse his tender attention and apologies. "It's not your fault," she said, for what seemeed the millionth time, or at least, the thousandth, "that this happened."

"I know. But somehow I feel responsible."

"How's that?"

"If I hadn't kept you at school for half an hour longer... because we walked, and talked... and took the long way around... you could've been there, and maybe you could have saved her, or..."

"I'd be dead, too." Gabriella rolled her eyes, watching the way Troy rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'd be dead, too, and how would that make you feel?" She watched the answerless Troy, with that slightly confused look pasted on his face.

"Uh."

"Yeah." No matter how hard she tried to, a smile would not shine through her tears. Troy's expression disappeared. He put his hands on the back of her head and held her close to his chest. "It's okay, Gabi. It's okay." He kissed the top of her head, holding locks of those luscious curls between his fingers. "I know that this is hard for you. It's hard for me to see you like this."

Gabriella hiccuped, sniffling, but still crying down tears as Troy continued.

"Whenever I see your smile, it makes me smile. When you laugh, I laugh. And when you sing, it makes me want to sing with you. When you cry, though..."

"Is it that when I cry," she murmured, "you want to cry, too, but you want to be there for me? And you don't want to buckle down because... you have to stay strong. It's your job. You're the boyfriend."

Troy chuckled, wiping away her tears. Still no sign of a smile hinted at her face, and he felt his heart slowly sink. "I don't want you to be sad, Gabriella. I can see why... but in this old world, people come, and people go, and that's just the way it is. We accept the fact that they're gone and we move on, no matter how much we want to go back.

"It's just that there's this... this limit. A limit for everything. We can't have too much ice cream. We can't have too much fun. We can't have too many basketball practices, either, no matter how many times Jason airballs during a game.

"And we can't have too much life. Otherwise everybody would be alive, right? And that wouldn't be cool, to visit your thousand-year-old ancestors. So there's that limit, and it always wins. Just like me against the wall, and, you see, the wall always wins, too.

"There are things that we can prevent, things that we can stop from coming. But life isn't one of those things. I guess it's like God puts a tax on life, just like how the government taxes ice cream. With every good thing comes something that, well, isn't so good. And it's all mixed together. You can't pick the nuts out of ice cream... sorta. And you can't pick the deaths out of the world."

Gabriella beamed up at Troy, just like how the sun beamed down on the two of them. "That was beautiful," she whispered, hugging him tightly before leaning back and sighing. "And you're right. So right."

"Yes," Troy said, smiling back at her. A short silence rippled around the house, before Troy began talking once more.

"You know, Gabriella... I love you. I really do." His arms wrapped around her slender waist, and he hugged her closer, without tolerating any protests.

"I think I've loved you since the moment I met you, at that ski lodge," Gabriella returned, nodding up at him. She felt a breeze of relief sweep over her, now that she no longer had to worry if they were really, well... _together_. "I love you more than anyone else in the world, since I've lost my mother... and I love you so much that it hurts. I don't want you to hurt me." She felt new, fresh tears sting her eyes and blur her vision.

Troy didn't need to say it out loud to her that he would never hurt her. All he needed to do was pull her closer. And before you could finish reading this sentence, Gabriella had her arms around his neck and her fingers in his hair.

"I love you," they whispered in unison, until the world faded into bliss as the couple kissed, their love blossoming like leaves in spring, like the leaves on the old willow tree in the backyard which almost completely covered the porch swing. With each swaying blade of grass, Troy and Gabriella's kisses intensified, and deep inside, they could take comfort in the fact that each of them had found their true love, their God-given person.

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**Author's Note:** I'm such a sap. I hope you liked this chapter, though. Love you guys.


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